Question Why relation is wrong before marriage ?

A question:

Why relation is wrong before marriage? ^[1]

The Answer:

What kind of relation? There are of course numerous kinds of relations. But the person who sends a question means a certain kind of bad relation. Some persons may mean one of two kinds. Whether a certain kind of love or a certain kind of sex. Sex before marriage means fornication, means sin. And most of the people who have experience in such sin and sex before marriage.

They don’t marry the same person with which they committed the sin. They may commit sin or fornication or adultery with another person. And when they want to marry, they prefer to marry a pure person, not a fornicated one.

So as an advice to the girls, don’t be deceived by the words I love you. Of course, such person is not loving you, but he is loving himself. And he wants to satisfy his evil wishes.

And at the same time, he doesn’t love himself. Because if he loves himself, he should search for the salvation of his spirit. Not the lusts of the flesh. And if a man or if a young man is loving a girl in such way of lusts. He doesn’t accept that his sister may be the same as the girl with which he committed sin. This kind of relationship is a kind of sin or lust or fornication or adultery before marriage.

And it should have a safe control in order to be pure and fresh.

^{[1] A Question Answered by His Holiness Pope Shenouda in a Sermon Entitled “Be holy as I am holy – Youth Meeting” Dated: November 22, 2002}